Thursday 17th August 2023
Happy birthday David! 58 this year. That number is getting a bit big. We had a lazy start to the day, chatting with all the family.

Where to next, as always this is the big question. We decided on heading down to Bowen, mainly because the silly Cowboys are playing again in Townsville tonight, so the prices are through the roof. We did some shopping, had a little Sushi Train lunch for David’s birthday and then headed on our way out. It was about 200km south along the Bruce Highway through the usual sugar can farms. There is currently a lot of roadworks so out took a little longer than expected.

We arrived around 5pm, just in time for a sunset walk along the beach with the sandflies and then home for an easy dinner. David has had a lovely day for his birthday and even happier that we get a rest in Bowen for a few nights. A very unusual event for us, we have booked a stay in an apartment for three nights, including the Matilda’s bronze medal match on Saturday night.

He has spent a few hours on his birthday Rubik’s cube, including teaching me the top and first layer with correct colours. Yay me!. He is managing the whole cube with instructions for the last layer. I am happy with my achievement as that is the best I have ever done inn my life. I used to be able to do the top face but with a jumbled first layer.

Here’s to a couple of days rest to re-group and recover.

Wednesday 16th August 2023
Well after a huge day of driving we have had a slow start to today. David said it was like being rally car driver with live obstacles along the way. He was on high alert for at least the last 3 hours of his 8 hour drive yesterday, arriving at our camp site at Burdekin Falls Dam totally exhausted. He fell asleep sitting up trying to do his camera tutorials. Hehehe!

We enjoyed a little walk down to the dam lookout, seeing some pretty birds and some amazing looking peacocks and peahens. Unfortunately the peacocks weren’t in the mood to show us their beautiful plumage. We just sat around resting and enjoying the peacefulness of our camp until about 11am. David still hadn’t decided which way we were headed to Townsville today, the dirt or the most direct route. Only time will tell!

When we finally got on our way, we headed to Ravenswood. A silver and Gold mining town. We saw some mine housing from the early days and went to the lookout to see the still working Gold Mine. The expanse it covered was incredible and the destruction of the land immense.

We then headed to White Blow which was a quartz rock similar to the one we saw at Undara in 2021. It was on the traditional land of the Birri People.

We enjoyed our lunch in the shade of the car at White Blow as the temperature has headed up towards 30°C and we are feeling the heart a little. After lunch David decided he was still very weary from yesterday’s drive also we went the most direct route to Townsville. I even had a drive for about 50km to give him a break. My first drive in a good few weeks. I still remember how, but was very quick to change seats as we reached the outskirts of Townsville.

We are staying in a little airbnb on the edge of Townsville tonight so we can watch the Matilda’s. Go girls go!

Tuesday 15th August 2023
After a beautiful night of stargazing until it got too cold. We slept with the tent open to view the stars some more. Unfortunately this meant I was cold during the night. Although I still managed a pretty good nights sleep. No waking to howling dingoes, but David did hear the kangaroos hoping around the car during the night.

David awoke early and went for a walk to the river and did some wildlife spotting. Alas, the emu and its chicks didn’t come back for a better photo. He did see some zebra finches though which are really cute beautiful. We saw some kangaroos on their way to the waterhole and some other birds. We had a very peaceful morning and enjoyed a little relax time. Yeah us!

We headed off about 10am with a big drive across country instead of going back the same way we came. It was on Alva Road which went passed and through many stations. We think they were mostly cattle as we saw so many cows and bulls, inside and outside the fence line. So often in the middle of the road.

The drive was lovely and we saw lots of wildlife including more emus, wild pigs, cows and bulls, horses and lots more birds. The scenery changed frequently and we saw only 2 4WDs, a quad bike and a road train the whole day. We love travelling the road less travelled. At 3.45pm we added an extra 2 hours to our day as we decided to head to Burdekin Falls Dam for the night instead of going back to Charters Towers. The last 2 hours was a time of dodging cows who decided crossing in front of us was their preferred option, then there were many drops down in the road and then the kangaroos came out. David was hoping to go a lot faster than the google time but unfortunately he only cut off about 25mins. Although it was exhausting for David as it was 399km on mostly dirt road for 8 hours. We arrived at our campsite at Burdekin Falls Dam at 5.50pm, just in time for sunset which was the most beautiful colours.

It was a lovely end to a beautiful day.

DELAYED POST – DAY 1

TRACK NOTES
Ramsay Bay to Nina Bay (Grade: difficult)
Distance: 4 km Time: allow about 2.5 hrs hiking time
Nina Bay to Little Ramsay Bay (Grade: difficult)
Distance: 2.5 km Time: allow about 2 hrs hiking time

Tuesday 1st August 2023
We woke this morning to a little bit of blue sky which was awesome and totally unexpected considering the inclement weather we have had the last three days. We all had to unpack some stuff from our bags and repack a little before we were ready to leave. It was fantastic staying at Lucinda Cove Resort where we could just walk out the gate to the ferry transfer at the jetty. They also allowed us to park our car inside their property and offer a shower on our return which is great.

We headed over to the jetty at 7.50 am and met Jon from Absolute North Charters. Once again he gave an amazing amount of information and shared many stories before, during and after the boat ride. He told us about a couple who didn’t heed the weather warning he gave them on Wednesday last week. They were told to cross Zoe Falls on Tuesday evening and go through to Mulligan Falls instead of camping at Zoe Bay. They ignored the warning, there was 60mm of rain overnight and they got up to Zoe Falls but couldn’t get across it but then they couldn’t get back down either, so they had to camp up near the falls overnight.
He warned us to cross Little Ramsay Creek at 6.30am tomorrow, as it is a big tide and high tide is at 9.06am. The logistics of that is, we need to be ready to leave camp at 6.15am. We still need to be careful of crocs walking on the beach the 1km to the creek crossing in semi light. Plus then need to make a judgement call on when and where to cross as the sun rises. But that is tomorrow’s challenge.

It was great to get that insight. We also need to cross the creek on Day 4 at 12.15pm then walk to the pickup point by 12.45pm. He also said if we felt the need to wait a little longer that was ok. He offers a great service.

So we enjoyed a great ride to the tip of Hinchinbrook Island. We saw a dolphin and stopped to look for dugongs. Unfortunately we didn’t see any today. We continued the scenic ride to the tributary and the jetty. The weather was looking a little inclement and the mountain peak was in heavy clouds but so far the weather is holding. We started the walk at about 10am, the hyperlite crew were on there way.

The day started with a beach walk, followed by a walk through a rainforest, there were several creek crossings, lots of rock hopping around the headlands and it was a very scenic day.

We enjoyed the hike to Nina Peak for morning tea which is a 200m elevation gain over about 600m distance. Boy is it worth the effort, as you can see the north of the islands, all the tributaries from the west and an amazing view to the south. We saw four hikers on their way along Nina Bay. We then hiked on for a little while and enjoyed lunch at Nina Bay. We met our first hikers here and they will more than likely be camp buddies for the next 3 nights. When we arrived at camp at about 3.30pm there were 6 hikers set up. We were happy and felt safer that they had taken the spots closest to the water. We chose our little camp and we all set up just in case the rain came in. So far, so good. Following this we walked to the creek to collect and filter water. This was a little tiny consuming but was in such a tranquil setting it didn’t matter. Then back to camp for dinner, we enjoyed our first camp dinner and chatted for awhile after dinner about creek crossing logistics for tomorrow. We decided we need to be ready to leave at 6.15am.

What an amazing day we had. No crocs but we saw a dolphin, a few birds, some beetles and the most amazing view. We walked along beach, through the first section, over boulders and pink granite. We have had no rain so far. Fingers crossed for another fine day tomorrow.

Sunday 13th August 2023
We decided to have a bit of a stroll around town to see the old buildings, visit the mosaic murals which explain a lot of the town’s history and visit the Pioneer Cemetery. Each with their own story and interesting facts about the town.

By the time we had finished all of this, it was 2pm and we decided to have an early stop, a rest and relax. Very unusual, but very much needed. I even managed a little afternoon snooze. We are staying at the Big 4 which is quite big but a little bit rustic for a Big 4. They have Roast Dinner and live music for $20.

All in all, we had a good but slower day. Yeehah!

Saturday 12th August 2023
After a lovely night and morning at our isolated camp in the Dalrymple National Park about 40km north of Charters Towers, we headed in to the town to see what it has to offer.

Our first stop was the cemetery which was very dry except in the lawn section which obviously was watered as it was very green. There were some beautiful old graves and also some memorials for WWII soldiers.

We then headed in to town and enjoyed lunch in the park. A beautiful green lawn and garden. We have decided to stay in a Motel tonight so we can watch the Matilda’s Quarter Final against France. We also went to Towers Hill where they had information about the town’s gold mining history and its part in World War II. It was quite interesting. We also went in a Word War II Bunker.

We also went and saw a mosaic art wall and a relic from Gold Mining.

Then it was time to watch the soccer. What a nail biting game. Yeah! to the Matilda’s. Now we will have to hang around to watch their next game on Wednesday night.

Friday 11th August 2023
We headed on ourway from Townsville Eco Resort (Caravan park just outside town) and headed in to town for some adventure prepping (freeze-dried food) in case we need it in the next couple of weeks. Choices are kayak paddle or multi-day hike, so we are prepared just in case.

We then took the long way via the Kennedy Development Rd (this section was bitumen the whole way) to Charters Towers, the scenery was lovely, becoming drier the further west we went. We drove through an Army area which looked like they had done a hazard reduction burn along the roadside, this made it look a lot more barren. It was a couple of hours drive and we stopped at about 3pm at a freebie campsite called Fletcher Creek. There would have been about 50 vans here already. We decide to explore a little further up the creek in to the Dalrymple National Park. This was on the Burdekin River. We found a lovely spot (No 4) and decided to book this for the night. It was beautiful. I managed my first yoga session by the river since we have left home. It was beautiful listening to the flow of the river as I relaxed doing my yoga. David did some wandering around looking at wildlife.

We then relaxed and cooked an early dinner and watched the animals come in to visit. We saw brush turkeys, many small wallabies, a willy wagtail, black crows and we were really lucky to see an echidna. It just strolled through camp. It was so restful just watching the wildlife at home in the bush.

I am sure we will have a lovely sleep here tonight.

Thursday 10th August 2023
Well, flexibility is the name of the game, and when a spanner gets thrown in the works, it is just go with the flow.

We got up this morning, packed up our little house at Balgal Beach Units and were on our way about 10am. Not quite sure of our destination, but all that was taken out of our hands when David tried to start the car. It started 2nd try, but unfortunately the battery levels were down and it looked like we may have alternator trouble. So we drove out to the Bruce highway, found somewhere to park in the shade and David did some investigation.

After a little while, he decided it was most likely the alternator. Internet and research was problematic, so we moved on to get a bit closer to Townsville, as this was the most likely to have more Auto Electricians available. So when we get closer to Townsville, we stop and David does some research, finds an Auto Electrician, chooses the highest google rated one and off we go again.

We arrive at Kenny’s Auto Electrical – this was a major workshop with many service vehicles, a huge workshop and about 15 employees. They did some checking for s straight away. We were given a quote within about 15mins and they were on the job 5 mins later. Within 2 hours, the job was done and we were on our way again at about 3pm. It was the most efficient operation and the most successful process I have seen. David was decisive and excellent throughout the whole issue.

Yay! We are on our way again. We headed to Townsville Eco Tourist Resort just south off Townsville for tonight.

Wednesday 9th August 2023
Well we have decided we will stay at the Balgal Beach Units another night. We are feeling more rested and are looking forward to another morning of sightseeing and then an afternoon in. Let’s see if we can manage that schedule. Knowing us, probably not.

I enjoyed a short run this morning out through the very few streets and back along the beach and followed it up with a cool swim in the Units pool. A little tough as I have only been walking lately. Then after breakfast, we headed on our way at about 10am at a leisurely pace.

First stop – Big Crystal Creek in the Paluma Range National Park, this was only 30mins away. The Paradise Waterhole was very beautiful but from the squeals of the young travellers as they jumped in, it was take your breath away cold. We decided not to swim here but wait till we went to our next stop which was the Rockslides, about another 10mins up the road.

Our second stop at the rockslides was another beautiful waterfall with rockslides into the pools. I chose a smaller pool to swim in first hoping that it had been warmed a bit by the sun. Luckily for me it was a little less brisk than the big pools. I enjoyed a lovely swim, a rest lying in the sun whilst David had a chat with a family of travellers doing a years lap around Australia. Such an amazing opportunity. We watched the young boy on the rockslide, so just because I could I gave it a go, hoping I didn’t get wedged in along the way because my bottom was too big. It was a bit of fun for the morning. We then headed back to the Waterhole for lunch in the park. A little bird photography and then a mint icecream at the Frosty Mango.

We then headed home for an afternoon rest. Pretty close to lunch time, it was only 1.50pm. Yay for us! Then a little bird identification, some blogging and a rest.

It’s 5pm and it’s birdy time. Out we go for a walk, cameras in hand. Not too much to see tonight.

Tuesday 8th August 2023
Today we are having a little rest day with the usual housekeeping. After breakfast we headed for a stroll along Balgal Beach. The water looks like it has cleared up a little but it still has a long way to go. The weather is clear, warm with a strong breeze. We walked north toro the little town of Balgal Beach and enjoyed some croc searching and birdwatching along the way.

We are always so surprised how tired we are when we finally stop for a rest. So far today David has done lots of bird watching, photography and identification, a bit of a walk and lots of rest. No work yet, but maybe tonight, or maybe not.